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Market Value and Human Psychology - Rekha I Nambiar Rekha I Nambiar is an interior decorator and Feng Shui consultant based in New Delhi, India. Her interests range from ancient history to astrology,languages to science, fiction, travel to books, music to writing.

Have you ever wondered why a film star earns more than a scientist working at ISRO? Why a political leader has a mass following but a social worker is relegated to relative ignominy? Why a businessman earns millions but a soldier strives to live within his meagre salary? What is that determines market value and what makes knowledge, compassion or courage secondary...in terms of financial reward or mass appeal. Of course, most people in the second categories are not motivated by economics or fame.

However, while assessing the market value of a certain profession one cannot escape the fact that the determining factor is perhaps the capacity to inspire millions or be able to benefit millions. In a manner those millions can relate to directly. Being the practical species we are, even though we may acknowledge that knowledge, compassion or courage deserve respect, unless it has a direct bearing on our lives on a mundane level we tend to see them as isolated segments of human enterprise and dedication.

Bill Gates is a millionaire only because he has managed to bring technology into our homes and offices. Shahrukh Khan has earned his fame and riches because he has the capacity to inspire and entertain the masses. Indira Gandhi has gone down in history because of her qualities of leadership and being able to touch the common man. Fame and money are not part of nature, but part of human existence and as such seek only to affect that existence on a 'practical' level. They also require a streak of creative genius, because if something or someone is not truly creative we do not get inspired.

When one speaks to young people studying engineering, computers, business or medicine, more often than not it is the market value that is the motivating factor rather than a dedication towards contributing towards a field or themselves. It is not necessary to have an altruistic purpose to contribute to society and there is nothing wrong with wanting financial reward or recognition. If something we do is benefiting someone, we are quite within our rights to expect compensation for it.

The unfortunate fall-out of this is that when people do not get financial rewards or recognition they equate that with failure and it is that sense of failure that is eating us from within. When fame and money become a driving force and our motivation is primarily that, not only does it breed an inherent feeling of self-worth associated with these two things, but they also make us neglect other spheres of activity like family, community and self-development in the process. Before we set out to inspire the world it is perhaps necessary to discover whether we are capable of inspiring ourselves. The world may put us on a pedestal and can also send us to the ground on our knees with ruthless ease. The only permanence we will ever find is when we truly believe in what we do and are inspired by that on a daily basis.

Market value, while giving benefits to a few, has also put many in a state of disllusionment and dissatisfaction. It has contributed to a rise in domestic problems, the destruction of the family structure, an increase in crime and corruption, a multitude of health issues and most importantly a degeneration in our moral fibre and definition of our own self-worth. I remember ten years ago that a man like Harshad Mehta was seen by many as a genius and idolized. The fact that crime and corruption were hallmarks of his success, did not deter ordinary people from placing him on a pedestal. The man had beaten the system. whether his last days spent in a jail cell were really worth beating that system is something no one thinks about. Osama Bin Laden is seen by many as a leader who stood up to the forces of western imperialism...does murder and fanaticism make anyone heroic? If so, perhaps Hitler is the hero of the last century.

When you go to bookstore most of these 'how-to' books are top sellers. But all the Carnegies and McCormacks in the world cannot teach us to differentiate between right and wrong. And none of them tells us that everyone cannot possibly become a CEO. They do not prepare us for an alternative. And the alternative is not failure...there is a whole world of possibility between success and failure because at the end of the day these are assessments made by human beings..not the Universe. Nature does not sit in judgement over you and even if God is sitting in judgement it is not your professional success that he is remotely concerned about. So what exactly are we driving ourselves into a frenzy for? The accolades of our brethren or the numerical value of our bank balance? Is that all there is to life?

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